Construct Validity of the Sensory Profile Interoception Scale: Measuring Sensory Processing in Everyday Life

Abstract

Scholars and providers are coming to realize that one’s ability to notice and respond to internal body sensations (i.e., interoception) contributes to an overall sense of wellbeing. Research has demonstrated a relationship between interoceptive awareness and anxiety, for example. Currently, however, tools for evaluating one’s interoception lack the conceptual foundation and clarity necessary to identify everyday behaviors that specifically reflect interoceptive awareness. Unlike existing interoceptive measures, the Sensory Profile Interoception (SPI) scale is participation-based and grounded in Dunn’s Sensory Processing framework. In this study we investigated concurrent validity by correlating the SPI with the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile (A/ASP); we investigated construct validity by correlating the SPI with the Perth Alexithymia Scale (PAS), the Body Awareness Scale (BAS), and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Using the REDCAP online platform, 74 college-aged participants completed the measures. Using Spearman rank order correlations there were statistically significant relationships between the corresponding sensory pattern subscales on SPI and A/ASP (r = 0.277 to r = 0.582). The PAS was only weakly related to the registration subscale of the SPI (r = 0.260). The BAS had significant relationships with seeking and avoiding on the SPI (r = 0.496 and r = 0.385). The STAI had significant relationships with sensitivity and registrations of the SPI (r = 0.266 and r = 0.361 for state; r = 0.403 and r = 0.321 for trait). Taken together, these findings provide evidence of construct validity of the SPI to identify participation patterns associated with both high and low interoception. With the more precise information the SPI provides, professionals can design tailored interventions to support everyday life goals and researchers can study interoception within authentic activities.

“When I’m in Pain, Everything Is Overwhelming”: Implications of Pain in Adults With Autism on Their Daily Living and Participation

“…The participants’ reports may also point to another aspect of interoception, interoceptive impact , which was suggested by Dunn et al (2022) . The interoceptive impact is the influence of interoception on everyday life ( Dunn et al, 2022 ).…”

“…The participants’ reports may also point to another aspect of interoception, interoceptive impact , which was suggested by Dunn et al (2022) . The interoceptive impact is the influence of interoception on everyday life ( Dunn et al, 2022 ). The participants described challenges in pain awareness and accompanied those descriptions with daily function manifestations.…”

Sensory responsiveness and alexithymia in autistic children

“…Differences in predictive coding in the domain of interception have been suggested to underlie emotional aspects of autism (Quattrocki & Friston, 2014) and alexithymia (Brewer et al, 2015), with experimental research showing an association between alexithymia and a reduced tendency to use interoceptive cues (Murphy et al, 2018). Interception is not measured by the SPSS-2, the scale used to measure sensory processing in the current study, and the development of new scales incorporating interoception (Dunn et al, 2022) will open new avenues of research in this area.…”

Development of a Participation Focused Measure of Interoception for Adults

“…However, neither interoceptive accuracy, interoceptive awareness nor interoceptive sensibility speak to occupational therapy's interest in interoception's impact on performance. Whereas other disciplines may be interested in an interoceptive measure's ability to reflect on a person's ability to notice or describe internal sensations, occupational therapists want to know how noticing or lack of noticing impacts daily life (Dunn et al, 2022).…”